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General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/writing-poetry and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism)
General Information:
Possible meanings for the header "a psalm of Solomon" are 1) David wrote this psalm about Solomon ("the king's son") or 2) Solomon (who, as David's son, was "the king's son") wrote this psalm as a prayer about himself or 3) another king wrote it about his son in the style of Solomon. People in those days would often speak of themselves as if they were someone else. However, it would be best to translate this as though the psalmist is speaking of someone else, not of himself. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-123person)
Give the king your righteous decrees, God, your righteousness to the king's son
Possible meanings are 1) "Give me, the king, your righteous decrees, God, your righteousness to my son" or 2) "Give me, the king, your righteous decrees, God, your righteousness to me, the king's son." People in those days would often speak of themselves as if they were someone else. However, it would be best to translate this as though the psalmist is speaking of someone else, not of himself. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-123person)
Give the king your righteous decrees
"Enable the king to judge rightly"
your righteousness to the king's son
The verb may be supplied from the previous phrase. Here the word "righteousness" refers to making righteous decisions. AT: "give your righteousness to the king's son" or "enable the king's son to rule with righteousness" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis)
May he judge
If David wrote this, he is talking about his son, "the king's son," he is speaking of the time when his son will be king. If Solomon wrote it, even though he is writing about himself, it would be best to translate as though he were writing about someone else. Either way, "May the king judge" is the best translation.
your people ... your poor
The psalmist is speaking to God.
your poor
The verb may be supplied from the previous phrase. The adjective "poor" refers to poor people. AT: "may he judge your poor people" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj)
May the mountains produce peace ... may the hills produce righteousness
The psalmist speaks of the people of Israel as if they were the mountains and hills on which they live. He speaks of the mountains and the hills as if they were the entire land of Israel, as if that land were a garden that produces fruit, and of peace and righteousness as if they are that fruit. AT: "May the people of the land live in peace ... may they do everything in a righteous way" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)